3dcart Review: Pros, Cons and Performance Ratings

In trying to find the best possible ecommerce solution for my friend’s business, I discovered that many options are out there – and they all claim to be the best. I found many lacked the necessary SEO features to ensure your store ranks as well as possible. Without it, you risk your customers going straight to your competition.

Sure, you’re never going to find one platform that’s perfect for everyone – but you can at least find one that’s perfect for you. I hope this 3dcart review will make your decision making a bit easier.

How 3dcart Compares To The Rest…

You’ll see in my overall rating, 3dcart ties with Shopify, and falls just one point shy of the leader, BigCommerce.

I based this rating on the fact that with 3dcart, you get

a fast load time

no transaction fees

more features than Shopify

unlimited product listings,

a wide selection of payment gateways

and a good mobile store speed

Shopify is killing them on design and mobile UX. You’ll also find way more people to help build and market your Shopify site than 3dcart.

Store Type (Size/Features)

Pricing

Pricing Based On

Payment Gateways

Additional Transaction Fees

Value

Features

Performance

Ease of Use

Design & Themes

Integrations

3dcart

Store Type (Size/Features) : General / Advanced

Pricing : $19 - $229

Pricing Based On : Users & Features

Payment Gateways : 70+

Additional Transaction Fees : None

Value : 4.5

Features : 3.8

Performance : 3.0

Ease of Use : 4.1

Design & Themes : 4.0

Integrations : 4.3

Shopify

Store Type (Size/Features) : Small / Advanced

Pricing : $29 - $299+

Pricing Based On : Accounts

Payment Gateways : 70+

Additional Transaction Fees : 0 - 2%

Value : 4.0

Features : 3.8

Performance : 3.9

Ease of Use : 4.8

Design & Themes : 4.0

Integrations : 4.5

BigCommerce

Store Type (Size/Features) : Large / Advanced

Pricing : $29 - $299+

Pricing Based On : Features & Sales

Payment Gateways : 70+

Additional Transaction Fees : None

Value : 4.5

Features : 3.9

Performance : 4.5

Ease of Use : 4.5

Design & Themes : 3.8

Integrations : 4.5

WooCommerce

Store Type (Size/Features) : General / Advanced

Pricing : Free + Hosting/Apps

Pricing Based On : Add-Ons

Payment Gateways : 70+

Additional Transaction Fees : None

Value : 4.0

Features : 4.0

Performance : 3.1

Ease of Use : 3.3

Design & Themes : 4.3

Integrations : 4.1

SquareSpace

Store Type (Size/Features) : Small/Simple

Pricing : $26 - $40

Pricing Based On : Features

Payment Gateways : 3+

Additional Transaction Fees : None

Value : 3.0

Features : 3.1

Performance : 3.5

Ease of Use : 3.1

Design & Themes : 4.3

Integrations : 2.3

Payment Gateways & Transaction Fees

3dcart works with more than 100 payment gateways, giving you and your customers the flexibility you need to choose the ones you need. Some of the most popular payment processing options include PayPal, Stripe, Square, and Authorize.net.

It’s important to note that even though you won’t see any transaction fees from 3dcart, your payment gateway will likely charge 2% to 3% of each transaction in fees paid to them for use of their service. This is much simpler than trying to get your own merchant account – especially if you’re just getting started with ecommerce or running your business as a one-person show.

Great Self Support Options

There’s an extensive knowledge base, webinars, video tutorials, a support forum, and an e-university available to help you learn everything you need to know to use the platform.

Ironically enough, the company sees a lot of their customers leave them for BigCommerce, but also sees a lot of new customers coming to them from BigCommerce. With similar as these platforms really are, it’s likely just a matter of personal preference based on dashboards and default features.

3dcart Software Overview

Easy site setup, fast hosting and lots of features.

3dcart, founded in 2001, is one of today’s leading hosted ecommerce platforms. It serves more than 17,000 merchants, both small and large. It has an impressive number of features right out of the box and offers flexible pricing options.

This makes it more affordable for small businesses on a limited budget while scaling their business and for business owners who aren’t familiar with the technical side of things.

The company continues to gain momentum with a growing library of themes and partnerships, so we can expect it to be around for years to come.

Even those with no design or coding experience can build a beautiful store in just a few minutes. There are plenty of templates to build a professional quality design. You can customize the details with just a few clicks to make it better match your brand.

Some brands who use 3dcart include:

Manhattan’s Oldest Chocolate House – Li-Lac Chocolates

Kitchen Restock

U.S. Salon Supply

Pete’s Tire Barn, Inc.

Lambert Vet Supply

3dcart’s Plans & Pricing

3dcart Features and Plans

1-Click Upsells

Abandoned Cart Email

Digital Products

Personalized Products

Product Export/Import

Product Search

Ratings & Reviews

Real Time Shipping Rates/Tracking

Reward Points

SEO Tools

Subscription/Recurring

Zoomable Product Images

Upselling & Cross Selling

Startup

$19

/month

1-Click Upsells :

Abandoned Cart Email :

Digital Products :

Personalized Products :

Product Export/Import :

Product Search :

Ratings & Reviews :

Real Time Shipping Rates/Tracking :

Reward Points :

SEO Tools :

Subscription/Recurring :

Zoomable Product Images :

Upselling & Cross Selling :

Basic

$29

/month

1-Click Upsells :

Abandoned Cart Email :

Digital Products :

Personalized Products :

Product Export/Import :

Product Search :

Ratings & Reviews :

Real Time Shipping Rates/Tracking :

Reward Points :

SEO Tools :

Subscription/Recurring :

Zoomable Product Images :

Upselling & Cross Selling :

Plus

$79

/month

1-Click Upsells :

Abandoned Cart Email :

Digital Products :

Personalized Products :

Product Export/Import :

Product Search :

Ratings & Reviews :

Real Time Shipping Rates/Tracking :

Reward Points :

SEO Tools :

Subscription/Recurring :

Zoomable Product Images :

Upselling & Cross Selling :

Pro

$229

/month

1-Click Upsells :

Abandoned Cart Email :

Digital Products :

Personalized Products :

Product Export/Import :

Product Search :

Ratings & Reviews :

Real Time Shipping Rates/Tracking :

Reward Points :

SEO Tools :

Subscription/Recurring :

Zoomable Product Images :

Upselling & Cross Selling :

All plans are billed on a month-to-month basis, so you never have to commit to a year’s worth of service upfront. Plans start at just $19 a month and top out at $229/month.

All plans include:

Basic SEO Tools

Abandoned cart emails

Coupons

Subscription and recurring billing

Ratings and Reviews

FBA integration and Dropshipping

Real-time shipping and tracking

Upselling and cross-selling

Variable products

PayPal and Amazon checkout

Facebook sync

And more…

Amazon and eBay sync are only an option on the Pro plan. eBay sync isn’t an option on any of the lower tier plans, and Amazon sync is only available on those plans as a paid add-on.

Selling Online with 3dcart

Selling with this platform offers a lot of solutions. With variable products and unlimited listings, you can get up and running in a few minutes.

Lacks a Customer Loyalty Program Option for All Plans

If you want your customers to have the option to earn reward points, you’ll need to be on one of the two top-tier plans. It’s not even an option with a paid add-on.

Needs More Native Multi-Channel Selling Support

However, the only multi-channel selling feature you’ll have right out of the box is the ability to sync your store to Facebook. If you want to sync your store to eBay, you’re forced to pay for the most expensive plan. If you want to sync to Amazon, you’ll have to pay for an add-on. But, if you want to use Amazon as your drop shipper, it does offer the Fulfilled by Amazon feature on all plans automatically.

You have the option to pay $49/store/month to sync your inventory from multiple 3dcart stores, but it doesn’t help you if you’re running the same store from your website, Amazon, Facebook, eBay, and other marketplaces.

Outdated Templates

The themes seem a little off. They’re not ugly, but they aren’t necessarily stunning, either. To make something that will really wow your customers, you’ll need to invest in customization.

Themes and Apps

There are more than 100 themes to choose from – with plenty of free themes to get you started. If you choose a premium theme, you’ll spend anywhere from $99.99 to $199.99 depending on the one you choose.

There are also hundreds of free and premium apps available to extend the functionality and features in your store. For example, for $15/month or a $195 one time fee, you can include a live chat feature in your store. For the same price, you could also get analytics information for your site. For $9.99/month, you can have extra fraud protections to prevent false transactions and chargebacks.

Ease Of Use

The platform doesn’t require a lot of knowledge to learn how to use. Everything’s fairly easy to understand within the online store builder. The quick design bar makes it easy for you to edit parts of your website design without having to make changes to the HTML.

Platform

Ease of Use

Phone Support

24/7 Support

Chat Support

Community Rating

# of Apps/ Plugins

Shopify

4.8

Yes

Yes

Yes

5

2000+

BigCommerce

4.5

Yes

Yes

Yes

4.0

500+

WooCommerce

3.3

No

No

Yes

4.0

250+

3dcart

4.1

Yes

Yes

Yes

4.0

100+

Volusion

3.9

Yes

Yes

Yes

2.0

20+

Magento

2.9

No

No

No

5.0

3000+

Prestashop

3.4

Yes

No

No

4.0

3000+

SquareSpace

3.1

No

Yes

Yes

3.0

10+

Wix

2.6

Yes

No

No

2

250+

Weebly

3.2

Yes

No

Yes

2

300+

Issues with Upgrades

When 3dcart goes through their own server maintenance and upgrades, you will likely run into issues with your store producing errors for your customers. Customers may not be able to check out, may not be able to correctly solve the captcha, or see products int heir shopping cart. These errors will affect your own customer satisfaction.

Long Wait Times and Holding With Customer Service

Though there are plenty of resources for self-guidance through the 3dcart platform, if you run into a problem that you cannot find a solution for, you may find yourself frustrated. Speaking to a customer service agent on the phone may take a while. It could take hours to reach an agent over live chat, and are slow to respond to emails or social media inquiries. So lots of holding and waiting.

Some even so far as to say they are charged for plans they didn’t want and have received poor, uninformed answers to their questions. That said, for every complaint, there seems to be someone else cheering them on- and no company can please 100% of its customers 100% of the time.

Alternatives

If you’re looking for something similar to 3dcart, I’d easily recommend you go with BigCommerce or Shopify. They have a similar feature set for the price and a similar pricing structure. Plus, if you’re willing to pay annually, you can get a discount, which isn’t an option with 3dcart.

BigCommerce offers an improvement on the multi-channel selling, making it possible for you to manage your inventory on Amazon, Facebook, eBay, and other channels from the central BigCommerce platform.

Shopify has a much larger volume of certified partners who can help you build and market your store. And you’ll still have a wide selection of apps to use to expand your store’s features and functionality.

Is 3dcart for you?

As an ecommerce SaaS platform, 3dcart is a good choice for entrepreneurs who want to get into the market quickly. The features and functionality are versatile enough to apply to multiple ecommerce business models.

You can accept credit cards online and they integrate with many payment systems. Security is rock solid too.

If you have a specific online retail business model, like dropshipping – Shopify will better meet your needs. But if you are a littly hazy on your business model 3dcart and BigCommerce will more than likely have the feature you need to test different business models.